Designer Genes - The Boyfriend Cut (47 page)

The bed moved and a soft kiss pressed my cheek. "Sweet dreams, Marli. Hope you feel better tomorrow. Good night, son. If you need anything, find me. Otherwise, I'll see you two at breakfast."

Darkness cloaked the room when I finally became coherent. I sat up, holding my throbbing head. I looked around to see if I'd been part of an unreal nightmare. The hole in the wall next to the door glared at me and the stabbing pain on the bottom of my foot told me otherwise.

Jordan left, which made my heart ache and somehow, I now wore my boxers and tank top. Not sure I wanted to know the answer to that mystery. My tongue felt covered in fur and my throat, painfully scratchy. I decided to venture to the kitchen for a drink and hopefully some type of pain reliever to dull my assorted aches.

Gingerly, I made my way to the bathroom, closing the door to keep from disturbing anyone. The light nearly blinded me and I gasped when I saw my reflection in the mirror. Eyes blackened by smeared mascara competed with a tangled hair nest. I scrubbed my face, brushed my teeth, and dragged a comb through my matted locks. A small bruise colored my left cheekbone and my eye appeared slightly swollen compared to the other.

The medicine cabinet yielded nothing for pain, but I remembered my purse on the entry table downstairs had some aspirin tucked inside. All I had to do was get downstairs gracefully and quietly
.

The pain in my foot rocketed to my teeth by the time I descended the last stair. Fumbling in the dark, I finally located my bottle of pills and pondered on how many I could take before death would come for me, a welcome choice at the moment. I clenched a couple of the tiny capsules in my fist and hopped to the kitchen for water.

The brilliant light in the refrigerator made me blink a couple of times to focus before reaching for a cold bottle of water.

"You must be the reason for all the commotion around here."

The voice, smooth like Jordan's but deeper, scared me near death. I screamed, tossing the water bottle to the floor. It rolled toward the table, leading my eyes to the silhouette of someone sitting in the dark against the silver glow of the moonlit window.

"Well that should bring everyone running."
He
stood; his shadowy figure large and ominous as he retrieved my bottle from the floor. Whoever he was made a correct assumption. Jordan clambered down the stairs and ran into the kitchen, scooping me into his arms.

"Marli! Why are you down here? Is it your foot? Your head?

I remained speechless, trembling, and pointed in the darkness toward the intruder.

"Sorry, son. I didn't mean to frighten her."

The stranger handed the bottle of water to me, his face now faintly illuminated by the light from the refrigerator. His features were familiar. I'd seen him somewhere before, but in the shadows I wasn't sure. Tall, like Jordan, having the same chiseled facial features, and from what I could see, matching caramel colored hair, but eyes darker, more like Jesse's.

Jordan's hushed voice heightened with surprise. "Dad! When did you get in? I didn't hear your chopper."

"I came by water. Luckily, I was at the penthouse when your mother called, so Mike brought me in his private boat. My sudden absence will have everyone scrambling in the morning, but your mother said it was urgent and I answer to her first."

He eyed Jordan standing in the middle of the kitchen holding me in his arms. "Tell me son, do you always run around half naked when there's a pretty lady in the house? No wonder your brother's gone half crazy."

I hadn't noticed until that second that Jordan only wore black,
form-fitting
boxers. His arms under my thighs suddenly felt intimate, and a burning flush traveled the length of my body. I turned my face into his shoulder and he hugged me close to his body—his gorgeous, sexy, underwear-only-clad body.

"Marli scared the hell out of me when she screamed. I thought she'd injured herself and all I cared about was finding her." Jordan carefully placed me on a stool. "Let me see your foot, babe. How's the pain?"

"It throbs. I came down for some aspirin and your father startled me." I touched the side of Jordan's cheek. "I'm sorry I've caused all this trouble. Maybe I should go home so you and Jesse can work through this without me here complicating things."

His father took my foot his hands and pulled the bandage back. I winced when he turned my foot toward the light from the refrigerator. "The sutures look good, Jordan. You did a fine job. They should heal quickly if she'll stay off her foot and keep it elevated." He shot me a sideways glance, but I still couldn't figure out his identity with the shadows hiding of his face.

Jordan placed his hand on his dad's shoulder. "It's easy when you've been taught by the best. I only wished you hadn't given up medicine. I would have liked to work beside you in an operating room."

His father grinned, exposing dimples like Jordan's. "My son flatters me. But you, young lady, are going nowhere. My sons will have to learn to sort through this with you here. No one is sending you home, understand? You're our guest and I'm hoping much more than that, someday.

"I guess now is as good a time as any to decide if you want to be a part of this insanity we call a family." He stood and faced Jordan. "Turn on the light, son. It's time Miss Davis met the source of her near-fatal heart attack and the reason why we've kept her in the dark for so long. No pun intended, Marli."

Jordan touched a panel on the wall, flooding the kitchen in fluorescent light. I did indeed know the man standing before me. His prominent, well-respected persona plastered billboards and numerous media transmissions. He commanded the respect of anyone in his presence, and in my late brother Daniel's eyes, he was a hero.

The similarities in his two sons were obvious, but not having known until now, I'd never have made the connection. There was no mistaking the handsome man to be Jordan and Jesse's father. I smiled inside knowing Jordan would be every bit as good looking when he grew older. I also fully understood the necessity for all the secrecy. The thousands of questions I had were answered, as well as a couple of new ones coming to mind.

Jordan walked behind me, resting his hands on my shoulders. "Um, Marli, this is my father—John
Banks
."

I stared into the chocolate brown eyes of the legendary man standing in front of me, and my hand shook when I held it out to him. "Nice to meet you,
Mr. President
."

27

REVELATIONS

T
he water crept closer, capturing a little more of me in its foamy edges with each wave. I watched the gulls circling overhead playfully duck from the warm summer sky into the sparkling peaks of the waves, their webbed feet skimming the surface until their downy bellies rested on the water.

I'd grabbed an apple and a couple of towels, slipping out of the house when Jordan and Jesse were loudly summoned for a private meeting with their father. With all the confusion inside, I welcomed the solitude of my private spot on the beach.

Most of the night, Eva, Jordan, and I sat in the living room with Jordan's father politely answering my barrage of questions. Before the morning sun fully ascended on the eastern horizon, however, nature's morning chatter was interrupted by the loud pounding of an ominous black helicopter. The 'Eagle' returned to the
nest.

Immediately dismissed to our rooms when four large men walked through the door, President Banks's private entourage of bodyguards and Secret Service detail had a few questions of their own. They were less than happy to wake and find the President of the United States missing. I wondered what security protected Mike for participating in the covert abduction.

A wave smacked a nearby rock, sprinkling me. I adjusted the rolled up towel under my injured foot, moving farther back from the teasing fingers of water. The gulls swarmed to make breakfast off the apple core I threw their direction. I closed my eyelids, concentrated on the sound of the waves breaking in the distance and not my tumultuous thoughts.

"There you are. I've been looking all over for you." Jordon plopped onto the sand next to me, leaning on a raised knee. "I see you're obeying doctor's orders and keeping the foot up, but why all the way down here?" He raised the bill of the baseball cap shading my face from the bright sun. "Marli?"

I remained hidden under my hat, while Jordan played with my fingers. "It's a lot to absorb," I answered. "Your father is the President of the United States, but no one can know. You go by a different last name and your father can't publicly acknowledge you. I'm having a hard time understanding, that's all."

"Babe, take off the hat and look at me, please?"

"No. I like hiding from a world that's very confusing right now."

"Fine have it your way." Jordan stretched out beside me on the beach towel, taking my hand. "Marli, you don't need to hide to feel safe. Nothing's changed."

"
Are you serious?
" I yelled through my fabric mask. "Everything's changed! I don't even know if you're Jordan Mason or
Banks?
I can no longer 'fly under the radar.' From now on, I have a personal bodyguard. How am I going to explain that little detail to Rick? Oh, that's right. I
can't
tell him. He's just going to believe I'm being stalked!"

Jordan yanked the hat off my face and threw it into the ocean before I could blink. He held my face so I couldn't look away. "I'm still Jordan
Mason
and for your information, you've had a bodyguard since you returned from California. My father insisted on it when he found out you interviewed for Douglas Peterson. You've just never seen the guy. The only time he couldn't watch you was when you were in Italy. We don't have jurisdiction internationally."

"Even when you weren't speaking to me?"

Jordan's brow arched. "It was
you
not speaking to me, if I remember correctly, and yes, even then."

I pried Jordan's hand from my face before a permanent mark formed. "Why? What's the big deep dark secret about Doug? I deserve to know everything."

"Actually, the less you know, Marli, the safer you are. I'll tell you this much. Doug Peterson's father is a powerful man, but not in a good way. I don't think Doug even knows much about his father's life. He's the one who had the pictures taken. They were meant to tear us apart so he could have you re-assigned to Doug."

"I know." Jordan looked surprised. "I overheard a conversation in Italy."

"Damn, I wish you hadn't. If Peterson knew…he's dangerous, babe. If there's such a thing as an 'arch enemy,' Tony Peterson qualifies in my dad's eyes."

I leaned up on my elbow. "Tony Peterson knows about your family? What if he told someone?"

Jordan twisted a lock of my hair around his finger. "If our family secret gets out, so does his—something Tony Peterson doesn't want. There are several skeletons hidden in the Peterson closet. Doug himself is harmless. He's like me—the son of a prominent man. The difference is I know most of my father's business dealings. I'm pretty sure Doug can't make the same claim."

"So that's why you're obsessed with Doug? I thought you were just worried I'd be taken in by his dashing good looks and smoldering kisses." Jordan's jaded expression proved I'd pushed the limit. I feathered the side of his handsome face. "Hey, I'm joking."

His ran his thumb across my bottom lip, "The thought of him kissing you, holding you…" A bubble rolled down his throat. "The nightmare kept me awake every night you were gone. It drove me nuts." He suddenly pulled away. "Well there's an epiphany I didn't expect. It must be the same for Jess when I'm with you."

I gently touched the swollen corner of his lip. "Your lip looks sore. I don't dare kiss you for fear it will hurt."

"I don't care if it hurts like hell." Without warning, he hovered over me. "Not kissing you is
never
an option." He leaned down softly touching his lips to mine. "Have I told you I love you today?"

"No, as a matter of fact, but it's been a little crazy." I raised my head up enough to plant another tender kiss on his mouth, catching a slight flinch when I did so. "But you can tell me now."